Refrigerator cabinet



March 22, 1955 LE ROY R. PATTERSON, JR 2,704,698

REFRIGERATOR CABINET Filed NOV. 19, 1952 Pig. 1

Hit 11554 I 111111111111 Inventor:

His Attovney.

LeRoy RPat'te'T-son, Jr.

United States Patent REFRIGERATOR CABINET Le Roy R. Patterson, Jr., Erie, Pa., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application November 19, 1952, Serial No. 321,368

11 Claims. (Cl. 312-214) My invention relates to refrigerator cabinets and more particularly to trim strip and gasket arrangements therefor.

At the present time household refrigerators have relatively thick insulating walls, that is, several inches in thickness. Walls of this thickness provide ample room for conventional breaker strips used to give a finished appearance at the access opening and occasionally used for the mounting of various accessories projecting into the space between the inner and outer walls of the refrigerator cabinet. Various improvements in insulation have made possible walls of substantially reduced thickness. disclosed in the copending application of Herbert M. Strong and Francis P. Bundy, Serial No. 236,788, filed July 14, 1951, and assigned to the General Electric Company, the assignee of the present invention, makes possible etficient refrigerators having a wall thickness of only /2-inch. This makes it difficult or impossible to utilize any conventional breaker strip construction, to mount accessories in the space between the inner and outer walls, and to mount a gasket on the face of the cabinet surrounding the access opening. By my invention, an improved structure framing the access opening of the food storage compartment of a refrigerator is provided which is peculiarly adapted to thin wall cabinets.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved refrigerator cabinet construction especially adapted for cabinets having relatively thin walls.

It is another object of my invention to provide a refrigerator cabinet including an improved trim strip and gasket mounting arrangement.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a refrigerator cabinet including an improved arrangement for uitilizing a trim strip for mounting accessories.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

In carrying out the objects of my invention, a trim strip including a generally L-shaped section is provided adjacent the access opening of the cabinet. The trim strip is mounted so that one edge is urged into engagement with the inner wall of the cabinet and another portion having a groove therein is urged into engagement with an inwardly extending flange of the cabinet wall. Moreover, the gasket for sealing the access opening upon the closing of the cabinet door may be arranged to include a portion overlapping this flange and be held in position by the engagement of the aforementioned groove with the gasket. In addition, the trim strip may include a depending portion for supporting accessories such as a control, a butter conditioner, a light, etc.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is an elevation view of a portion of a refrigerator cabinet incorporating an embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view taken along the line 22 in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation view taken along the line 33 in Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a refrigerator cabinet 1 which includes an outer wall 2 and a spaced inner wall or liner 3. The liner may be of a metal of For example, vacuum insulation of the type 2,704,698 Patented Mar. 22, 1955 "ice less steel. The space between the outer and inner walls is filled with insulating material 4.

Insulation with a very low coeflicient of thermal conductivity, for example, the vacuum insulation described in the aforementioned Strong and Bundy application, is provided between the spaced walls 2 and 3 so that the distance between these walls is only a fraction of that in present refrigerators. This thickness may be, for example, approximately /2 inch so there is not room 0 for conventional breaker strip construction at the forward relatively low thermal conductivity, for example, stainedge of the cabinet adjacent the access opening, nor is there sufficient room for gasket engagement for mounting in the conventional manner. In order to provide a face of sufficient width framing the access opening of the food storage compartment 5 defined by the inner wall 3, the outer wall 2 includes a flange 6 extending inwardly toward the access opening. As shown in the drawing, this flange 6 extends inwardly beyond the inner wall 3. In the form illustrated, the inner wall 3 includes a flange 7 extending inwardly toward the access opening. Where vacuum insulation is employed, the flanges 6 and 7 are secured, by welding or in any other suitable manner, in sealing engagement to provide a vacuum-tight chamber between the walls 2 and 3. Preferably, both the inner and outer Walls are flanged as described to provide a double flange thickness of desired rigidity. However, if desired, only one or the other of the walls need inclluce a flange extending inwardly beyond the inner wal In order to provide a finished appearance at the access opening and for the purposes to be described below, trim strips 8 are provided at the sides of the access opening and a trim strip 9 is provided at the top of the access opening. The trim strips are preferably of molded plastic material, for example, polystyrene. While separate trim strips 8 and 9 are described, it will be apparent that a one-piece molded structure combining trim strips 8 and 9 could be employed framing the access opening of the refrigerator. Referring first to the trim strips 8 employed at the sides of the access opening, as illustrated in detail in Fig. 2, it can be seen that these trim strips are of generally L-shaped cross-section. Each of these trim strips includes one leg 10 arranged generally parallel to the inner wall 3 and a second leg 11 extending normal to and having its end or edge in engagement with the inner wall along a line 12 spaced rearwardly from the forward edge of the inner and outer walls. The forward end or edge of the trim strip is formed to provide a groove 13 within which the inwardly extending flanges 6 and 7 are arranged to be received.

In order to hold the trim strip in assembled position, a member or bracket 14 is provided between the forward edge of the inner and outer walls and the aforementioned line 12. The bracket 14, which is of generally U-shaped cross-section, is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the inner wall 3. Where the structure is employed with a refrigerator cabinet utilizing vacuum insulation, that is, a refrigerator in which the space between the inner and outer Walls 2 and 3 is evacuated, the provision of the member 14 secured to the interior surface of the inner wall 3 is necessary since it is undesirable to have any fastening device penetrate the inner wall 3 itself. The bracket 14 includes a portion 15 spaced from the inner wall and having a threaded opening therein. The trim strip 8 is then held in position by screws, one of which is shown at 16, which engage the threaded openings in the bracket 14 for urging the leg 11 into engagement with the inner wall and for urging the groove 13 toward the inwardly extending flanges 6 and 7. The bracket 14 may be made in the form of a strip extending the full height of the access opening of the refrigerator and having a plurality of spaced threaded openings therein for engagement by the screws 16. Alternatively individual brackets of limited length may be employed in spaced relationship, each bracket being positioned in the proper location for receiving a corresponding screw 16.

The aforementioned construction may, of course, be employed for mounting the trim strip in the desired position for improving the appearance of the cabinet adjacent its access opening. However, in accordance with my invention this trim strip is conveniently employed for additionally mounting a gasket 17 adjacent they face. of the. cabinet provided by the flange 6. In the form illustrated, the gasket 17 includes a tail portion 18 which is arranged to overlap the inwardly extending flanges 6 and 7 of the outer and inner walls.. The groove 13 is then formed sutficiently wide to receive both the flanges 6 and 7 and the overlapping portion 18 of the gasket 17 within the groove. When the screws 16 are then tightened, the end of the trim strip and the groove thereof are urged into engagement with the portion 18 of the gasket and presses this portion firmly against the flanges 6 and 7 for holding the gasket in position against the face of the cabinet. The trim strip thus provides a simple and effective arrangement for mounting a gasket on a refrigerator cabinet.

Asis shown in Fig. 3, the trim strip may perform still another function. Thus, the trim strip 9 which extends horizontally across the top of the access opening of the storage compartment includes an L-shaped section a corresponding in shape to the trim strip 8 previously described and :1 depending flange 19 extending downwardly from the L-shaped section into the access opening of the cabinet. The trim strip 9 is mounted on the inner wall 3 by means of a bracket or brackets 14 and screws 16, in the same manner as the trim strips 8. The flange 19 is molded to provide a plurality of openings of the desired size for receiving various accessories. These accessories may include, for example, a butter conditioner 20, controls 21, lights 22 for illuminating the storage compartment, etc. Preferably, the molded trim strip 8 is formed with rearwardly extending flanges 23 adjacent the openings therein for providing mounting support for the accessories. The accessories may be secured to the rearwardly extending flanges by means of any suitable fastening devices well known in the art.

While I have shown and described specific embodiments of my invention, I do not desire my invention to be limited to the particular constructions shown and de scribed, and I intend by the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall, at least one of said walls including an inwardly extending flange at the front edge thereof, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner Wall, a trim strip including an L-shaped section, one end of said L-shaped section engaging said inner wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flange, the other end of said L-shaped section having a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, and means for urging one end of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position.

2. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall, said outer and inner walls including adjacent inwardly extending flanges at the front edges thereof, a trim strip including an L-shaped section, one end of said L-shaped section engaging said inner Wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flanges, the other end of said L-shaped section including a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, and means for urging said one end of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position.

3. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall, at least one of said walls including an inwardly extending flange at the front edge thereof, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner wall, a trim strip including an L-shaped section, one end of said L-shaped section engaging said inner wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flange, the other end of said L-shaped section including a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, a member secured to said inner wall, and means engaging said member for urging said one end of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position.

4. A refrigerating cabinet including an outer wall, an inner Wall, at least one of said walls including an in wardly extending flange at the one edge thereof, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner wall, a trim strip including an L-shaped section, said L-shaped section including a first leg extending parallel to said inner wall and a second leg extending normal to said inner wall, said second'leg engaging said inner wall along a line spaced rearwardly from said flange, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flange, said first leg of said L-shaped section having a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, a member secured to said inner wall at a point between said flange and said second leg, and means engaging said member for urging said second leg of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position.

5. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall, said outer and inner walls including adjacent inwardly extending flanges at the front edges thereof, a trim strip including an L-shaped section, one end of said L-shaped section engaging said inner wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flanges, the other end of said L-shaped section including a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, a member secured to said inner wall, and means engaging said member for urging said one end of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position.

6. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall, at least one of said walls including an inwardly extending flange at the front edge thereof, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner wall, a trim strip of L-shaped cross section, one edge of said trim strip engaging said inner wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flange, the other edge of said trim strip having a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlaping portion of said gasket, and means for urging said one edge of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position.

7. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall, at least one of said Walls including an inwardly extending flange at the front edge thereof, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner Wall, a trim strip of L-shaped cross section, one edge of said trim strip engaging said inner wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flange, the other edge of said trim strip having a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, a member secured to said inner wall, and means engaging said member for urging said one edge of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position.

8. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall, at least one of said walls including an inwardly extending flange at the front edge thereof, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner Wall, a trim strip of L-shaped cross section, one edge of said trim strip engaging said inner wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flange, the other edge of said L-shaped section including a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, a member secured to said inner wall, said member having a threaded opening therein, and a screw engaging said threaded opening of said member for urging said one edge of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position.

9. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall defining a food storage compartment and providing an access opening therefor, at least one of said walls including an inwardly extending flange at the front edge thereof, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner wall, a trim strip extending horizontally across the top of said access opening, said trim strip including an L-shaped section, one end of said L-shaped section engaging said inner wall, the other end of said L-shaped section having a groove therein, said groove engaging said inwardly extending flange, and means for urging one end of said trim strip against said inner Wall and for urging said groove against said inwardly extending flange, said trim strip including a depending flange extending across the top of said access opening and constructed and arranged for supporting accessories thereon.

10. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer walL an inner wall defining a food storage compartment and providing an access opening therefor, at least one of said walls including a flange at the front edge thereof extending inwardly toward said access opening, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner wall, a trim strip extending horizontally across the top of said access opening, said trim strip including an L-shaped section, one end of said L-shaped section engaging said inner wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flange, the other end of said L-shaped section having a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, and means for urging said one end of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position, said trim strip further including a depending flange extending across the top of said access opening and constructed and arranged for the mounting of accessories thereon.

11. A refrigerator cabinet including an outer Wall, an inner wall defining a food storage compartment and providing an access therefor, at least one of said walls including a flange at the front edge thereof extending inwardly toward said access opening, said flange extending inwardly beyond said inner wall, a trim strip extending horizontally across the top of said access opening, said trim strip including an L-shaped section, one end of said L-shaped section engaging said inner wall, a gasket, said gasket including a portion overlapping said inwardly extending flange, the other end of said L-shaped section having a groove therein, said groove engaging said overlapping portion of said gasket, a member secured to said inner wall, and means engaging said member for urging said one end of said trim strip against said inner wall and for urging said groove against said portion of said gasket to hold said gasket in position, said trim strip further including a depending flange extending across the top of said access opening and constructed and arranged for the mounting of accessories thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Forsthoefel June 25, 1940 Brouse Sept. 16, 1941 Yoxsimer May 15, 1945 

